The invention relates to a device on a textile machine, especially a spinning preparation machine, for cooling heat-emitting electrical components, for example electrical switching devices and/or switch cabinets.
In the field of the textile industry, especially in the field of spinning room preparation, in modern machine designs the switch cabinets necessary for operating the machine are generally integrated directly into the machine or its frame. On the one hand, that has the advantage that the connections between sensors and actuators as well as the corresponding switching devices can be kept very short and simple. On the other hand, however, that practice has the result that often only very limited space is available and so the switching devices usually have to be very closely and tightly packed into the switch cabinets. As a result, generally a relatively large amount of heat is generated, which is often considerably increased by the unfavourable ambient temperatures in the spinning room preparation area. For dissipating the resulting lost heat it is often necessary to use fans or even cooling units. The latter are generally ruled out from the outset on account of the considerable costs associated with their installation. Accordingly, only suitable fans remain. Because the environment in which such machines are operated contains very large amounts of dust, it is essential to equip the machines with dust-protection mats which prevent the dust from penetrating into the switch cabinet. Unfortunately, such mats become clogged after a relatively short time so that the inflow or outflow of air is no longer sufficient. That means, in turn, that regular cleaning of the mats is essential to ensure sufficient ventilation. Experience shows, however, that it is precisely this kind of maintenance that is carried out only very rarely, if at all. The consequence is therefore frequent stoppages and machine downtimes caused by overheated switch cabinets or switching devices.
A known device on a spinning room machine (WO 2006/048303A) has electronic components, such as frequency converters and the like, that produce so much heat that they require cooling. They are therefore provided with cooling fins which project into the exhaust air stream with which fly, dust and other impurities are extracted. That exhaust air stream is freed of its impurities in a filter and in so doing increasingly clogging arises. That reduces the air stream's volume and accordingly its cooling action. In order nevertheless to prevent overheating of the electronic components, the latter are provided with temperature sensors which in the event of an excessively high increase in temperature send a signal to a control device indicating the necessity to clean the filter. Progressive alerts can be given, culminating in disconnection of the power supply of the electronic components or shutdown of the drive means. The cost of that device is high in terms of equipment. A particular problem is that it is necessary to clean the filters in order to avoid or eliminate excessive heating. Finally, the warning device itself requires monitoring and maintenance.